Life's Blasts

Daily I praised God for the beauty of Autumn. The maple tree outside my window was like a lamp shining into the darkened room. Everywhere I looked, the glory of Autumn shouted for my attention. I took pictures and mentally tried to memorize the different shades of red, orange, yellow, brown and green. Sometimes, it took my breath away.

I noticed the air getting nippier and the birds are flocking to our feeders. Winter is on its way.

Then, with one storm, the leaves were blasted away. This is the same tree as at the beginning, but now this is the view from my window.

Sometimes, when life seems most lovely, we can encounter a storm that rips the beauty right out of our lives. The shock is enormous and we feel bare and stripped of life's joys. That is the time to remember that though a tree looks dead after a storm, it is very much in the process of becoming an even more beautiful tree in the Spring. So it is with any storms that come into our lives--God is doing something unseen that will cause us to be more productive and more lovely after a while. Take heart, He is the Master Artist and we can trust Him with the worst storms of our lives.

Morning Thoughts

Journal—October 26, 2011
Good morning, Lord. The sun shines through the yellow maple leaves outside my office window. The sunrise was spectacular. I’m so glad I was able to grab the camera quickly. Thank You for such beauty to greet the newborn day.
I love You, Lord. Why is it so difficult for our finite minds to grasp Who You are? I suppose for that reason—our minds are finite and Yours is infinite. But, in the little bit of understanding that I possess, I praise You. You could take all the sunrises, every beautiful and majestic mountain, the glory of the sea and they would only be a poor showing for Who You really are. If we could grasp that, how different our lives would be. Help us, Lord to know You better and appreciate You more.

Do You Ever Have Days Like These?

The past months have been grueling. There is no other word to describe them. Mentally, you can reason out that all of this is good for you, that you are growing in the Lord, and all the cliche`s ad infintum. Those words may be true but when you are in the midst of the storm, it's easy to be blown this way and that, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. The last thing you want to hear is how God is doing great things in you. What you want is a hug or a hand clasp and the words I love you. I care about you and am praying for you.

I have been the perpetrator of cliche's at times, wanting to encourage and fix the problems of those hurting around me. However loving and valid those feelings are, I need to be aware that this is perhaps the last thing someone wants to hear. I want to be sensitive to the needs of others and that includes listening to them and really hearing what is being said.

Forgive me, Lord, for the times I have flounced into someone's life and rattled off some words or "comfort" and flounced back out. Attune my heart to Yours and allow me to be the conduit of the love You have for each person.

Storing Up Provisions

It's autumn and time to think about storing up things for the winter months. Barns are chucked full of hay and other grains. Domestic animals are assured of warmth, shelter and food within those walls, no matter what the weather. They are protected from predators as well.

Wild animals, especially the furry kinds are busy storing up their own goodies to ward off hunger during the lean months.

They instinctively provide for the long winter by storing food and making snug shelters. Balled up in the nests in trees, squirrels stay warm and snug.

During this time just past harvest, I store up spiritual food and shelter through God's promises to last me through the wintry months of life. I know I am in safe hands when I listen to the Word of God. He provides for me, covers me, keeps me safe, fattens me on the precious, life-giving promises and brings me through hard times.

Cloudy Skies

Have you ever had days when enormous clouds obliterate the sun? Everything seems to go wrong. You are in pain that seems to never stop. You have emotional baggage that is sapping you of every ounce of strength you possess. Disappointments cause you pain and anguish. That longed-for dream ends in disappointment. I have. Some times it is so cloudy that it feels more like fog than a cloud. Or the cloud is so huge and filled with rain, it seems it will never go away.

But, even in the clouds there is beauty. Even when the troubles multiply and the body doesn't work without pain, glorious beauty can come out of it.

God will always use the clouds in our life for our good and His glory. Though they may bring anguish and pain, His healing hand will make the scars of body and soul into things of beauty. Reach out to Jesus, let Him have all that misery. His sun shines also. Sunrises and sunsets are made glorious when clouds are present. The gray and forbidding clouds turn white and fluffy and life goes on.

"A Fresh and Crystal Spring . . ."

While singing from my hymnal this morning, I came across a lovely sentence in one of the hymns. It is called "In the Secret of His Presence" by Ellen Lakshmi Goreh and George c. Stebbins. It goes:
"When my soul is faint and thirsty . . .there is cool and pleasant shelter, and a fresh and crystal spring . . .". My soul was refreshed reading about this cool shelter and crystal spring. Looking into the water, my soul is renewed. Allowing the coolness of the shade to give me rest, I rise with renewed strength and hope. Peace envelops me. I feel at one with the Lord and I go out to meet the demands of the day. I can't always go to a physical place to do this, but I can look at the beauty of nature through photographs or just close my eyes and picture the scene. God has given me this wonderful nature to enjoy and to revel in and find quiet for my turbulent thoughts.

Being Old is not the Same as Being Useless

In the process of aging, it seems as though the older you get, the less useful and productive you are. There is nothing further from the truth! Aside from TV and magazine ads that try to convince you to look like 16 when you're 88, or having to use a trowel to put on your makeup in order to not show wrinkles (why hasn't anyone come up with make up that takes away the turkey-wattle neck?), God sees our aging in a much different way.

Younger people need older people to help show them the way. A battered tree that seems dead gives a resting and nesting place for birds and insects and it also provides

nutrients for a new forest.

He looks at the inside of us. He cares more about our character than our wrinkles. He sees the tremendous fount of wisdom and experience that come to many with aging. Let's not forget who we are in Him. We are beautiful and worthy of having His only Son die for us, no matter what our age or outward looks. Old and washed up? Not me! I'm just beginning to really enjoy life and no amount of rust or dings can change that when I see it through God's viewpoint.